| Western Reserve Red Cats | |
|---|---|
| Position | End |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1913-12-09)December 9, 1913 Woodville, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | May 23, 2003(2003-05-23) (aged 89) Henderson, Nevada, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | Dover (OH) (1930–1933) |
| College | Western Reserve (1935–1937) |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Frank Leon "Doc" Kelker (December 9, 1913 – May 23, 2003) was an All-Americancollege footballend,college basketball player, and track star forWestern Reserve, now known asCase Western Reserve University, from 1935 to 1937. Spanning high school and college, he played in 54 consecutive football games without a loss. As anAfrican American, his athletic career ended after college as no professional sports had yet broken thecolor barrier.
Kelker was born inWoodville, Florida in 1913. He and his family moved north toDover, Ohio in 1918.[3]
Kelker attendedDover High School in Dover, where he was described as "Mr. Everything," earning 14 varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track. Doc was the first Ohio high school athlete to be named All-Ohio in both football and basketball in the same calendar year.
The Dover football team posted a combined 30–1 record the three seasons he played (1931–1933), including two wins over theMassillon Tigers, famously coached byPaul Brown.[4] He was voted captain his senior year.
As a senior on the basketball team, he played an integral role in the team winning the 1933Ohio basketball state championship.[5]
As a member of the baseball squad in 1932 and 1933, Kelker's unofficial stats included a .521 batting average with 12 doubles, 7 triples, 5 home runs and 22 stolen bases. The team posted a combined record of 23–4, including a victory over state championWarren.[6]
In track as a ninth grader, he set the school record for the100-yard dash at 9.9 seconds.
Kelker attended Western Reserve, now known asCase Western Reserve University, inCleveland, earning nine varsity letters in football, basketball, and track.[7]
During his college football career, the team went a combined 27–2–1, with victories overCornell,West Virginia,Cincinnati,Bowling Green,Ohio,Toledo, andAkron. InBig Four Conference league play, the team was a perfect 9–0, winning all three titles againstJohn Carroll,Baldwin Wallace, andCase Tech.
The 1937 basketball team went 11–3, including wins overSyracuse,Cincinnati, andDayton.[8]
After graduation, Kelker first became a cadet teacher and assistant coach at Cleveland'sCentral High School, working there for two years. In 1940, he began working at the Cedar Avenue Branch of the ClevelandYMCA as a youth secretary where he served as mentor for many black youths, most notablyLouis andCarl Stokes.[9] in 1950, Kelker moved toKansas City to take the role of executive secretary at the Paseo Branch YMCA. He returned to Cleveland in 1956 to lead as the executive secretary of the Cedar Avenue Branch of the ClevelandYMCA.[10] Kelker also served as a founding trustee and board chair ofCuyahoga Community College.[11]
TheFrank "Doc" Kelker Scholarship is given annually at Case Western Reserve University to an undergraduate to "remove the barriers between young scholars and their potential".[12]